The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Conventionally, reclining articles of furniture (i.e., chairs, sofas, loveseats, and the like), referred to hereinafter generally as reclining chairs, utilize a mechanism to bias a leg rest assembly in extended and stowed positions and separate components to allow a back seat member to recline with respect to a seat base. Known furniture members can also include mechanism designs that also permit the reclining chair to rock in a front-to-back motion with respect to an occupant. Occupant head rest support is commonly provided by one or more cushion members which abut with or are extensions of further cushion members acting as occupant back rest support members. The head rest support is commonly joined at its ends to vertically oriented backrest side support arms which are in turn rotatably connected to a furniture member chair frame.
Most reclining chairs upholster the chair frame and support the chair frame from a stationary base assembly in a manner permitting the chair frame to “rock” freely with respect to the base assembly. In order to provide enhanced comfort and convenience, many rocking chairs also include a “reclinable” seat assembly and/or an “extensible” leg rest assembly. For example, combination platform rocking/reclining chairs, as disclosed in Applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,096,121 and 4,179,157, permit reclining movement of the seat assembly and actuation of the leg rest assembly independently of the conventional “rocking” action. The leg rest assembly is operably coupled to a drive mechanism to permit the seat occupant to selectively move the leg rest assembly between its normally retracted (i.e., stowed) and elevated (i.e., extended or protracted) positions.
Because head rest support is substantially fixed to the back seat member, as the back seat member rotates the head rest cushion(s) will commonly remain in a fixed orientation with respect to the seat back member. This can result in uncomfortable head rest support positions for the different rotated positions of the seat back. For example, with the seat back member rotated to a fully reclined position, the head rest may be rotated too far backward for comfortable viewing off a television or monitor. Also, with the seat back member rotated to a fully upright position, the head rest may be rotated too far forward for the comfort level desired by the occupant. The above head rest support systems are not adjustable by the occupant, and therefore can result in discomfort in either the fully reclined or fully upright positions, or in the leg rest extended position for different occupants.